Two oil types on North Slope of Alaska - implications for exploration
- Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
Forty oil samples from across the North Slope of Alaska have been analyzed by the US Bureau of Mines and the US Geological Survey. Results of these analyses suggest two separate genetic oil types. The first, the Simpson-Umiat oil type, occurs in reservoir rocks of Cretaceous and Quaternary age and includes oil from seeps in the Skull Cliff, Cape Simpson, Manning Point, and Ungoon Point areas, and oils from Wolf Creek test 3, and the Cape Simpson and Umiat oil fields. These are higher gravity, low-sulfur oils with no, or slight, odd-numbered n-alkane predominance and pristane to phytane ratios greater than 1.5. Physical properties of Barrow-Prudhoe oils are variable, but in general the oils are medium-gravity, high-sulfur oils with slight even-numbered n-alkane predominance and pristane to phytane ratios less than 1.5. Barrow-Prudhoe type may have originated from a carbonate or other iron-deficient source rock, and the Simpson-Umiat type from a siliciclastic source rock. Occurrences of the two oil types, when outlined on a map, indicate at least two areas for additional exploration: for the Barrow-Prudhoe type, in stratigraphic traps along and adjacent to the Barrow arch, and for the Simpson-Umiat type, in Cretaceous rocks along the trend between the Simpson and Umiat oil fields and in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks from Prudhoe Bay field to the William O. Douglas Arctic Wildlife Range. 10 figures, 2 tables.
- OSTI ID:
- 5519986
- Journal Information:
- Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Vol. 65:4; ISSN AAPGB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
020200 -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
023000* -- Petroleum-- Properties & Composition
ALASKA
ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE
ARCTIC OCEAN
BAYS
BEAUFORT SEA
CARBONATE ROCKS
CENOZOIC ERA
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION X
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
GEOLOGY
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD
NORTH AMERICA
ORIGIN
PALEOZOIC ERA
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PRUDHOE BAY
QUATERNARY PERIOD
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS
USA